In the period between 200 AD and the end of the sixth century, Christian art emerged and evolved as a particular manifestation of the mystery of Christian faith. Sacred (but also secular) architecture witnesses this new cultural phenomenon. Churches following various patterns, baptisteries, and monasteries alongside wall paintings and mosaics, sarcophagi and small-scale pieces of art reveal and interact with a particular comprehension of the mystery of Christ and the Church. In this course, early Christian art is set against its theological, cultural, socio-economical, and political background. This onsite course places their study in addition to this in their geographical milieu, by visiting the main extant places for Early Christian Art in Italy (Rome, Ravenna, Venice, Tuscany, Assisi, among others). Meetings & Readings before the trip.